Today, Congress will reconvene after its August break. House and Senate Republicans have announced that they will focus on “security issues” rather than the pending immigration legislation. Republican Congressman John Boehner (OH) told the New York Times:

“We Republicans believe that we have no choice in the war against terror and the only way to do it is to continue to take them head-on whether it is in Iraq or elsewhere.”

Right.

In addition to shoring up national security (wink), the GOP is also preparing itself for the upcoming elections, which could likely result in a shift of congressional power. For this reason, the Republicans have decided to focus on “Pentagon and domestic security spending bills, port security legislation and measures that would authorize the administration’s terror surveillance program and create military tribunals to try terror suspects.”

In addition to instilling more xenophobic fear in potential voters, the Right hopes to galvanize conservative voters at a critical time by leaving the immigration legislation in the air. Given this climate, political compromises are highly unlikely. Instead of working toward a solution, real lives will continue to hang in the balance while Congress plays political football.